


Warm Arms

by nevertoomanyfloralshirts



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Post-Mount Weather, cuddling for warmth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:28:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28627269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevertoomanyfloralshirts/pseuds/nevertoomanyfloralshirts
Summary: Clarke is cold, Lexa is warm. They make it work.Set somewhere in the beginning of Season 3, they're heading to the Ice Nation and Clarke isn't coping well with the cold. She's also not quite ready to forgive Lexa and accept her help.Just a little fluff and angst for the touch starved queers in quarantine.
Relationships: Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Comments: 37
Kudos: 177





	Warm Arms

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically my love letter to the beautiful fic by Clarkesquad "Cold Arms" which has vanished from the internet. It was my comfort fic and I was devastated to see it deleted. If you recognise any similarities to that story it's because I missed it so much I decided to write one myself. If anyone has access to it I would gladly sell a part of my soul to read it again. 
> 
> You can tear the 'sharing a bed for warmth' trope from my cold dead hands.
> 
> Enjoy!

It was cold. Impossibly cold. Clarke thought the air conditioned narrow hallways of the Ark had been devoid of any warmth but that was nothing compared to the frost that blanketed the air around her. She couldn’t feel the tips of her fingers and her toes had long since succumbed. Hell was much colder than she had anticipated. 

They had been riding since dawn and were headed slowly north. The ever growing presence of snow and the dropping temperatures were only a few of the signs they were headed deeper and deeper into Ice Nation territory. Much to Clarke’s chagrin, she had been given a series of thick coats and animal pelts to help ward off the cold. At first she had resisted, that simmering anger at Lexa still allowing her spite to rear its head. But she had quickly realised that dying of frostbite wasn’t a great first step in getting justice. 

When they finally broke for camp, Clarke wearily slid from the back of the horse groaning and stretching. She rubbed her hands together and blew on them trying to gain some sense of feeling. The Commander’s small convoy were already working to get a fire started as others unpacked the horses and begun on tents. Clarke knew she should help but she honestly wasn’t sure she would be any good to anyone shivering as she was. Nevertheless she sucked in a cold gulp of air and turned to her horse to begin unloading her few belongings. 

“Are you alright?”

Even now, after however many meetings they had had and conversations turned into arguments, the sound of Lexa’s voice was enough to make her tense up. She paused for a moment before yanking the straps on her things with a little more vigour than perhaps necessary. 

“I’m fine,” she responded. 

Another pause. 

“I know you have not experienced cold like this before, Clarke. I would understand if you were not.”

Finally Clarke turned to face her.

“Well I’m not dead yet, despite your best efforts Commander.” Clarke pushed past the other leader and found a spot slightly away from the others to start pitching her own tent. 

_____________________________________________

Wrapped in as many layers as she could and huddled next to the fire the grounders had started, Clarke felt a little silly. Here she was, some child that fell from the sky who couldn’t handle a little cold. Even with all her extra layers, she had come across no relief. She was beginning to genuinely worry about her feet as they seemed to not have any feeling in them still. She shifted closer to the fire and decided to push her feet forward to gain that extra little bit of warmth. 

Eventually a tall and burly warrior only known to her as Casta held a plate of something in front of her face. She took it with a murmured _mochof _even as she felt a pang of disappointment at its contents. Not that she wasn’t grateful for food but she had been hoping they had made another stew or soup. Something that would warm her to her core. Instead a small selection of dried meat and a chunk of old bread were to be her meal. She started to nibble at the bread, trying to hide the way it felt like dust in her mouth. She glanced up and saw Lexa watching her from across the fire, a concerned look in her eye, and decided to eat with at least a little more vigour.__

____

After the meal, some of the grounders went off to bed whilst others sat around talking and laughing. The others seemed to be completely unaffected by the snow beginning to drift down in the darkness. Clarke even saw one of the bigger men remove their shirt as he entered his tent, presumably used to sleeping without one. Fuck them. 

____

To make matters worse, Lexa had continued to send her worrying looks throughout the evening, but so far, Clarkes glaring had kept her at bay. 

____

“Clarke.”

____

Well that was short-lived, Clarke huffed as she looked up to Lexa standing above her. She was similarly wrapped up in a thick cloak, fur ruffling her cheeks in the breeze. 

____

“What?” Clarke asked, a puff of white into the night air. 

____

“You’re cold Clarke. Don’t deny it, I just want to help you. We can collect some extra blankets for you, or move you closer to the fire. It is foolish to carry on when you need help.” As much as Lexa seemed a little exacerbated, there was an undertone of genuine concern in her voice. Clarke hated it. She hated Lexa and this stupid mission. The only reason she was even here was as some stupid ploy to parade ‘Wanheda’ as some prize of the Commanders. 

____

“Yes I’m cold. It’s snowing, we are in a forest in the middle of nowhere, and up until two days ago, I had never even seen snow before in my life. But I’m fine and I don’t need your help and I don’t want your help!” Maybe a bit disrespectful but fuck it Clarke was freezing and none of her warriors were close enough to hear the exchange. 

____

“Please Clarke, this isn’t about some grudge against me. You’re no good to anyone if you can’t even stop yourself from shaking.”

____

“Lucky for you Lexa, I was training to be a doctor. It’s when I stop shaking that you need to worry about me being cold,” and without further explanation Clarke pulled herself up from the fire and tore towards her tent, pulling aside the flap and crawling in. 

____

She arranged her makeshift bed and lay on top of it, fully clothed still. She pulled the blanket she had been given up to her chin and then turned to her side to bring it over her ears instead. She lay there, feeling the cold seep through the bedding and against her skin. She slipped her hands between her thighs trying to get even an ounce of warmth. A rogue tear tracked its way down her cheek and soaked into the material beneath her head. 

____

_____________________________________________ 

____

It had been hours now and Clarke knew she had gotten no sleep. Her shaking was overwhelming, and despite the exhaustion she was wide awake. She didn’t know how many times she had rolled around and attempted to wrestle a little more warmth from her covers but it was no use. 

____

Clarke couldn’t go on like this. She was cold and she was tired and fuck Lexa and everything she stood for, she needed help. But if she was finally going to cave into the demands of her body, she was going to make sure she took it from the person who had put her in this position. 

____

Forcing herself up from the ground and slipping on her boots she decided taking her one meagre blanket with her would be for the best. She had it slung around her shoulders and she realised she might look like a child to the other grounders but at least she knew the majority of them were already asleep. She slipped out of her tent and made her way towards where she knew the Commander’s slightly more spacious tent lay. If it were not already obvious where she slept, the two burly guards holding weapons and at alert patrolling a respectable distance from the tent were a dead giveaway. 

____

Clarke walked up to the tent and expected to be confronted about trying to meet with the Commander at this late hour however they simply gave her a passing glance and she walked up to the flap of the tent unhindered. She paused for a moment just outside. Did she knock? What was she even doing here really? Before she could hesitate any longer she pulled the flap open and strode in.

____

The tent was dark except for a single candle flickering to one side. She could only just make out Lexa’s sleeping form and much to Clarke’s annoyance, she looked right fucking cozy. Undecided on what to do next, Clarke shuffled further into the tent and suddenly Lexa’s eyes were upon her. There was a look of animalistic fight or flight in her eyes which after assessing there was no danger quickly turned into a groggy look of confusion.

____

“Clarke?” 

____

Oh god and her voice was croaky with sleep. Lexa pushed the cover away from herself and shifted herself up into a sitting position, wrapping her arms around her bent knees.

____

“Is something wrong?” Lexa asked, concern shuffling in where confusion had been.

____

Clarke took a moment and then couldn’t help looking down at her feet. 

____

“I’m cold.”

____

There she’d said it, was Lexa happy now? Vindication must feel nice. At this point Clarke’s anger seemed to be the only thing keeping her from completely freezing over. 

____

Lexa started to get up, pulling her coat and blanket from where they had been laying on top of her. She slipped into her coat and then, holding the blanket open, came around and behind Clarke, where she pushed it over her shoulders. Clarke grabbed the edges by instinct and was glad it was only the Commander here to witness her being wrapped in blankets like a baby to be coddled. 

____

“I’ll go make us some tea, you need something to get you warm again.” Lexa murmured quietly behind her before the swish of the tent flap closed behind her. 

____

Clarke just stood there for a moment. Did she follow Lexa? She didn’t want to go out there into the snow. Did she sit down? There wasn’t exactly a spot to sit except on the cold ground. She glanced at Lexa’s bed with jealousy. Maybe it was her imagination but it looked a lot more plush than Clarke’s was. Probably warmer too…

____

Without further thought, Clarke and her blanket cape trudged over to Lexa’s bed and she sat down on top of it. 

____

Oh fuck her. It was still warm. 

____

She circled the blankets more fully around her and waited for Lexa to return. 

____

_____________________________________________

____

Clarke was shaken out of her exhausted reverie be Lexa re-emerging with two steaming cups in her hand. The scent of chamomile drifted through the air and Clarke briefly wondered which grounder had been the one carting that around. Or perhaps Lexa just always had it on her. 

____

She handed Clarke the cup and reluctantly, Clarke uncurled one of her hands from the blanket in order to take it from her. 

____

“Thank you.” She said softly. 

____

She took a sip and couldn’t help the low groan that escaped her, perhaps another time she would have been embarrassed by such a sound but she was too cold to care at this point. Lexa was still standing in front of her holding her own cup and it wasn’t until then that Clarke remembered she had stolen Lexa’s bed. 

____

“Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t know where to sit so I just… well your bed looked warm, I mean-“ Clarke shut herself up before she could ramble any further. 

____

“It’s okay Clarke, I would’ve offered it anyway.”

____

Clarke just nodded and then shifted her body up and across the bed a little. It was only made for one person really, but Clarke knew as well as Lexa probably assumed, that the real reason she had come here was for body heat. 

____

Lexa held her gaze for a second as if asking silently for confirmation before moving forward and joining Clarke on top of the bed. She sat cross-legged and Clarke tried not to flinch as their hips brushed together. For a while they sat in silence, quietly sipping the tea and Clarke had to admit, it was certainly making her feel even more tired but with the added bonus of a warm feeling in her stomach. She wasn’t sure if Lexa felt awkward about the situation, if she did, she was hiding it well. 

____

Clarke could feel her body relaxing, the shaking she had felt simmering down and allowing her muscles to relax. They had gone from the hips touching, to most of the side of Clarke’s body. Granted, she was still wrapped in multiple blankets, but she knew she was gravitating to Lexa’s apparently endless heat source. 

____

Eventually, she had drained the cup and Lexa wasn’t far behind. Clarke paused briefly and then decided ‘to hell with it’. She reached past Lexa and put her cup down on the ground and then undid the two blankets she had wrapped around her. Next, she pulled off the coat that she was suspicious did barely anything against the cold nights and then stripped further down to her undershirt. As she took her shoes off she debated whether her pants would follow. She hadn’t looked at Lexa once throughout this whole undressing and she wasn’t sure how intimate she was planning on making this. But again, that cold and exhausted part of her brain demanded to be heard and she shucked those off too. The cold air was beginning to directly hit her skin and goose bumps prickled her arms so she pushed most of the clothing away and then arranged the blankets on top of her and Lexa’s legs before propping her coat on top as well. Perhaps an extra layer would be of benefit. 

____

Finally, as she cozied down the makeshift bed, she glanced up to where Lexa was looking at her, eyes wide and mouth firmly pressed in a straight line. 

____

Clarke took pity on the poor girl and the bed she was stealing. There was so much buried anger still in her, but she could be angry tomorrow if she wanted. 

____

“Please Lexa, just keep me warm.”

____

Lexa didn’t say anything before tugging off her own coat as well as the sweater underneath. She seemed to hesitate on her pants, but clearly having Clarke go first allowed her to follow suit with little argument. She slipped under the covers as well and then turned to face Clarke.

____

“Is this okay?” Lexa murmured.

____

Clarke looked at her for a moment, debating what to say, instead she just swallowed and wriggled further into the blankets. Finally, shifting forward she fully entered Lexa’s space, bringing her hands up to the other girls stomach and grabbing a fistful of shirt. She carefully slid a leg between Lexa’s and hooked the other girl slightly towards her. Clarke couldn’t see Lexa’s face but so far she had received no objection from being used as a glorified heater. Ducking her head lower, Clarke brought her body impossibly closer and finally settled in to getting as much warmth out of the other girl as she could. 

____

For a minute there was just quiet breathing, Lexa wasn’t stiff exactly, but she certainly wasn’t relaxed either. Carefully, she finally brought her arm across both of their bodies and placed it delicately between Clarke’s shoulder blades. A shiver ran through the blonde, one she couldn’t blame on the cold for once. Lexa’s fingers started doing slow circles that further lulled Clarke into this warm cocoon she had created. 

____

It was far too intimate for her liking. There was this part of her that was screaming to push against the body curled around her, to yell at this woman who had so very nearly broken Clarke. But she was finally warm. Even the air Lexa huffed out onto the top of Clarke’s head were a comfort in all the cold. Her muscles were finally relaxing, not rigidly resting upon the bed. 

____

Clarke wasn’t sure how long they had been laying there, the blonde curled into the impossibly gentle presence of the Commander. She shifted a little and Lexa opened up her arms to give her a little space. Untangling their legs and unintentionally brushing her socked foot along Lexa’s leg, Clarke rolled over so that her back was facing into Lexa’s chest. 

____

Lexa’s hand still hovered slightly above Clarke and she could only imagine the thoughts running through the other girl’s head. With a low huff of exasperation, Clarke reached back and grabbed Lexa’s hand and dragged it around her body. Still holding tightly to her fingers, Clarke edged back against the Commander until she could feel every rise and fall of breathing against her back. They had been close before but this felt far different. Spooning the leader of an entire nation, a woman who had abandoned her, certainly wasn’t how Clarke had anticipated her day going. 

____

“I still hate you,” Clarke whispered into the frigid air. 

____

A pause. 

____

“I know.”

____

And with that Lexa nudged a foot between Clarke’s and tangled their legs again. The arm around Clarke fell more securely against her hip. 

____

Clarke finally began to drift off, hand still intertwined with Lexa’s against her chest. Barely conscious she felt a whisper at the nape of her neck. 

____

_Reshop niron._

____

**Author's Note:**

> All mistakes, grammar and spelling are born and raised down under. 
> 
> I hope at the very least you will appreciate the fact I had to purchase a years subscription to Microsoft 365 in order to finish this (because they suddenly realised about halfway through writing this that I haven't been a student for two years and have not been paying for access to Word!)
> 
> Thanks for reading xx


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